Physiological measurements can be performed with a wide variety of known physiological measurement devices. For example, body temperature, cardiac rhythm, blood pressure, oxygen saturation in blood, electrocardiography, EEG, pulse, skin conductance, total hemoglobin, carboxyhemoglobin, methemoglobin, perfusion index and the like can be monitored with small handheld instrument or meter. Similarly, physiological measurements can be made of analytes (glucose, ketone, cholesterol and the like) present in physiological fluids, e.g. blood, blood derived products, or other fluids in biological systems. Physiological detection find use in a variety of applications, including clinical laboratory testing, home testing, hospitals, clinical, etc., where the results of such testing play a prominent role in diagnosis and management in a variety of disease conditions.
One area that applicants have concentrated is the physiological monitoring of persons with diabetes. In such person, glucose monitoring is one technique to ensure normal glycemic state of such person. The accuracy of such monitoring can significantly affect the health and ultimately the quality of life of the person with diabetes. Generally, a diabetic patient measures blood glucose levels several times a day to monitor and control blood sugar levels. Failure to test blood glucose levels accurately and on a regular basis can result in serious diabetes-related complications, including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, nerve damage and blindness. There are a number of electronic devices currently available which enable an individual to test the glucose level in a small sample of blood. One such glucose meter is the OneTouch® Profile™ glucose meter, a product which is manufactured by LifeScan.
There currently exist a number of portable electronic devices that can measure physiological parameter(s) (e.g., body temperature, cardiac rhythm, blood pressure, oxygen saturation in blood, electrocardiography, EEG, pulse, skin conductance, total hemoglobin, carboxyhemoglobin, methemoglobin, perfusion index, glucose levels, ketone, cholesterol and the like) in an individual and store the measurements for recalling or uploading to another computer or remote processor for analysis. These devices are provided with user input interfaces such as buttons and capacitive touchscreen to allow the user to manipulate information or configure parameters for the meter.
It has been proposed by others in the art to utilize a buttonless physiological meter, as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,474, which is incorporated by reference herein. From the standpoint of the users, a meter without any button or user input interface is very attractive due to its operational simplicity. Nevertheless, such systems are susceptible to various modes of inefficiency or error.